Acting in Plays, Singing/:(

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Expert: - 5/31/2010


Question
I'm studying opera singing, and have problems with singing high notes.When I try to sing high tones (a2-...and that's not even high)my voice breaks or sounds wrong.I'm trying to hold the tone with my breath but it doesn't help. I am doing breathing excercises and have a vocal coach.Also, I'm a soprano and I'm 19.
I'm studying hard, but with no succes. Can you please give me some advices? Thank you in advance, Lisa

Answer
Hello, Lisa –

Thank you for the question.

At 19 and with reference to Classical vocal studies – specifically opera – you should have a wider range and better knowledge of breath control. You don't mention if you are a student in a Music Conservatory or are taking private lessons. You also do not specify your vocal category, i.e., soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto, etc. Classical vocal training starts with your vocal category being correctly identified.

If what you are aiming for is an operatic career, then you should be in a world class conservatory. Our summer opera season opened Saturday night with Gounod's FAUST. The resumé of every singer in the cast lists a combination of performance credits, music degrees, and advanced training programs with professional opera companies.

From my own experience as a professional singer and coach, I know that you need better training. I don't know what you mean by "practicing hard". What is that you are actually doing – with such dedication? Obviously, it's not working. You need a different teacher. Simple.

It's one thing to be doing breathing exercises but quite another to control and sustain a phrase. Start with the most fundamental element of vocal training – scales. Any aria you will ever sing draws upon the notes that are in the range of your vocal category. Your daily vocal workout must include perfect scale work throughout your vocal register.

My job is to show you how. That must happen in person.

I am a vocal coach to working singers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Who knows? Perhaps some day you will take a class with me.

Take a look at my You Tubes:

Lorena Feijóo - A Look at "Giselle" with Seán Martinfield
”As Time Goes By” – aboard Cunard’s Queen Victoria
”Embraceable You” – Gershwin and Rodin at the Legion of Honor
SAMSON & DELILAH – Meet Seán Martinfield

Below are links to my recent interviews and articles about what's happening on San Francisco's cultural scene:
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http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=76093

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Best regards,
Seán Martinfield
SanFranciscoSentinel.com

Acting in Plays, Singing

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Sean Martinfield

Expertise

I am a professional vocal coach in San Francisco. In addition to answers from a previous web site (Askme.com - where my "tag" was "VocalCoach") I have published over 2000 responses related to vocal training - particularly as it relates to Musical Theatre and Opera. I have 24 years of experience as Personal Trainer to singers and actors in the San Francisco Bay Area. I sang professionally for 20 years and know what it means to live the life of a musician. I can determine your voice category, i.e., Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Alto Belter, etc., and how to broaden and strengthen your range. Need an audition song for a Broadway Musical? I will give you suggestions that are appropriate to your vocal category and to requirements specified in the audition notice. I have also created a vocal methodology, "The Belter`s Method". It will enable those in Musical Theatre to practice more efficiently because it focuses on the demands of professional performers as well as to those auditioning for school and community productions, and as University and Conservatory performing arts majors. If what you want is a better voice and more control over your career moves and choices, contact me. Also, as the Editor of SanFranciscoSentinel.com, it is my privilege to review productions at the San Francisco Opera, Ballet and Symphony, as well as Broadway National Tours booked into San Francisco's Orpheum, Golden Gate and Curran Theatres. I also review works by A.C.T (the American Conservatory Theatre) and Magic Theatre. I cover select films, tributes and retrospects, and various international film festivals – particulary those booked into The City's opulent Castro Theatre – including the LGBT Frameline Festival, International Film Festival, Silent Film Festival, Jewish Film Festival, etc. For private vocal instruction, I can be contacted through SanFranciscoSentinel.com. Look under: Seán Martinfield, Sentinel Editor and Publisher.

Experience

As a vocal coach, I work primarily with singers and actors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. My students range from absolute beginners to working professionals, from pre-schoolers to senior citizens. The vast majority of my clients come to me through recommendation. I know how to identify any singer's vocal category, i.e., soprano, tenor, alto, baritone, etc. I know how to muscle-up every singer's vocal range and to expand it beyond conventional definitions. I have developed a vocal methodology for those who want to know how to belt, THE BELTER'S METHOD. As a singer who spent half of his career doing Bel Canto, I know that classical or Italian methodologies do not work in Standard American music. Bel Canto cannot be "adapted" to meet the needs of contemporary American music, including the demands of the Musical Theatre. There are a number of major components to my work as a vocal coach. The first is to identify the client's vocal category and to strengthen and maximize the vocal range accordingly. Then it's about teaching a reliable vocal workout that will enable the client to gain better control of their musicianship. That includes scale work to expand the vocal range and to improve placement, breath control, and diction. Then we work on material for the audition portfolio, the immediate job or assignment, a recording session, etc. My task to is to better equip singers and actors who are hoping to or relying upon their performance skills and vocal endurance to maintain a career in the Performing Arts. My clients regularly appear in cabarets and musical productions throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Some have worked in New York and gone on National Tours. For more information, Contact me at: Broadwaybelters@yahoo.com

Education/Credentials
San Francisco State University – BA in Theatre Arts; graduate work in Theatre, Philosophy, and Comparative Reiligion. Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley – Graduate work in Ethics

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